1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to medical instruments and more particularly but not exclusively relates to guiding devices for the placement of medical instruments into the body of a patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many medical situations, it is desirable to penetrate the solid or semi-solid biological matter of a patient's body and guide a medical instrument to a precise location. For example, one common medical practice involves diagnosis and therapy of a tumor in a patient's body. Another common medical practice involves accurately placing a needle in a patient's body. Various mechanical guiding systems are available to help medical practitioners guide medical instruments into the internal anatomy and structures of a patient. Mechanical guidance systems for medical instruments function to help medical practitioners diagnose, treat, and provide care to patients.
It is common in various clinical procedures to use a stereotactic apparatus to position a device or instrument at specified orientation and location relative to a target area on a body or specimen. These known types of devices exist in many form factors. Some are independent mechanisms that integrate with a specific device or tool set, and others are physical features built into an instrument. All are designed to allow controlled manipulation of a device in a designated geometric reference plane, or multiple reference planes.
The physical nature of some of known devices results in a restricted geometric range of motion, and it may be difficult or impossible under certain conditions to achieve and maintain a desired position of the instrument. In the case of a fixed needle guide, where a user is limited to motion in a single plane at a fixed angle, it may be necessary to switch between multiple guide geometries during a procedure to achieve proper needle position. Difficulty in positioning the needle increases the overall complexity of the procedure. Extra setup steps can increase the duration of a procedure, which may negatively impact the health of the patient.